Presser foot for sewing machines



PRESS ER FOOT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed July 15, 1931 lNvENToR Sarah B-Harkera 27 F1 9 yawn/e1.

ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 7, 1933 UNITED .STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

This invention relates to an attachment for sewing machines, particularly domestic sewing machines, and has for its object to provide an attachment which may serve as a presser foot for the usual sewing operations, and which in addition facilitates various special sewing operations such as darning and applying patches, braid, appliques and the like.

A further object of the invention is to provide a presser foot which permits the fabric to be moved freely on the bed in any direction.

A further object is to provide a presser foot which aifords complete visibility to the sewing at and adjacent the point where the needle pierces the fabric.

A further object of the invention is to provide a presser foot which has a bottom face which engages with the fabric around the needle opening and which has a suflicient area in contact with the fabric around the sewing point to hold the same flat against the bed and prevent wrinkling or puckering of the fabric adjacent the sewing point.

A further object is to provide a presser foot which projects on all sides of the presser bar a sufficient distance to hold the fabric clear of the moving parts at the outer end of the arm of the sewing machine head so that tubular pieces such as socks, stockings, pant legs or sleeves may be positioned with the presser foot upon the interior thereof without interference with working parts of the sewing machine.

A further object is to provide a presser foot having a convex bottom face which permits the fabric on the bed of the sewing machine to pass easily under it when advanced in any direction on the bed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a presser foot having a yielding fabric engaging face composed of resilient material which will yield to accommodate different thicknesses of fabric and which will hold sheer fabrics flat against the bed during their passage beneath the foot, preventing the formation of wrinkles or puckers in the seam.

A further object is to provide a presser foot with a convex yielding face which will readily permit fabric to pass in any direction beneath it, but which holds the fabric on the bed during the up stroke of the needle so that the needle thread is pulled tight against the bobbin thread at each stitch.

A further object is to provide a presser foot having a needle opening and which is adjustable to accommodate the needle of various models of sewing machines.

A further object of the invention is to provide a presser foot having a fabric engaging portion formed of flexible transparent material which is provided with an opening through which the neeoval form provided with means near the center thereof for rigid attachment to the presser bar.

A further object of the invention is to provide a presser foot having a substantially flat skeleton frame of metal or other rigid material which is oval or annular in shape and which has a rim portion to which is attached the rim portion of a convex flexible disc which formsthe work engaging face and which has its center portion spaced from the under side of the central portion I of the frame so that the central portion of the disc may yield to accommodate the different thicknesses of fabric on the bed.

With the above and other objects in view the invention may be said to comprise a sewing machine attachment such as illustrated in the accompanying drawing hereinafter described and particularly set-forth in the appended claims, together with such variations and modifications thereof as will be apparent to one skilled in the art to which the invention appertains.

Reference should be had to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an attachment embodying the inventionsecured upon the presser bar of a sewing machine;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of I the attachment shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line indicated at 3-3 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the attachment;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view showing an attachment of slightly modified form;

Fig. 6 is a section taken on the line indicated at 66 in Fig. 5 showing a portion of the sewing machine bed and a fabric work piece interposed between the presser foot and bed;

Fig. 7 is a plan view ,of a slightly modified construction;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary section taken on the line indicated at 88 in Fig. '7.

The attachment as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 of the drawing comprises a skeleton frame 1 preferably of the form of a sheet metal stamping having an annular rim 2 which provides a support for a convex disc 3 which is preferably formed of flexible transparent material such as celluloid turned marginal flange 4 which hooks over the edge of the rim 2. The transparent disc 3 is resilient and the central portion thereof is spaced downwardly from the bottom of the frame 1. The frame 1 has narrow bracing webs 5 and 6 integral with the rim 2 which extend inwardly from circumferentially spaced points on the rim and which provide openings or windows between them through which the work may be viewed as it is fed over the bed of the machine. The transparent disc 3 is provided with a needle opening 7 which is preferably positioned at or near the center of the disc. The bracing webs 5 extend inwardly from opposite sides of the forward half of the rim 2 and join rearwardly of the opening '7 to provide a relatively large window 8 around and in advance of the needle opening and the webs 6 extend from the webs 5 to the rear portion of the rim 2 from points adjacent the adjoining inner ends of the webs 5 providing side windows 9 through which fabric on opposite sides of the needle and presser bar may be viewed.

Suitable means is provided for attaching the frame 1 to the presser bar of a sewing machine such as an attaching bracket 10 which has a base portion provided with forwardly diverging legs 11 which rest upon the webs 5 and which may be rigidly secured to the webs 5 by any suitable means. The bracket 10 has an integral upright channel shaped clip 13 which is formed to embrace the lower end of a presser bar suchas the bar 14 shown in Fig. 1 to which the clip may be rigidly secured by means of a clamping screw 15 which extends through a slot 16 in the clip.

In view of the fact that the relative spacing of the presser bar and needle bar varies in different models of sewing machines, means may be provided for adjustably attaching the bracket 10 to the frame 1. The extending arms 11 of the bracket 10 may be secured to the webs 5 of the frame 1 by means of bolts 1'7 which extend through slots 18 and 19 in the arms 11 and webs 5, slots 18 and 19 being disposed at right angles to each other so that the brackets may be adjusted forwardly and rearwardly or laterally in either direction to aline the needle opening 7 with the needle 20 attached to the needle bar 21. As shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, the frame 1 is so positioned with respect to the presser bar 14 that the central opening 7 in the celluloid face plate is in alignment with the needle 20 carried by the vertically reciprocating needle bar 21.

The transparent facing disc 3 is preferably molded with the marginal flange 4 and with the central hole '7 and the mold is preferably formed to provide a marginal bead 22 on the upper concave face of the disc around the opening 7 which provides a rounded edge for the thread to slide over in passing through the opening to the fabric. The disc 3 may be provided with a second opening 23 forwardly of the opening '7 through which a strip of material such as braid may be fed to the fabric passed beneath the opening '7 where it is stitched to the fabric. By reason of its convex form the flexible facing disc'exerts a yield ing pressure on the fabric passing over the bed of the machine and is flattened at the center around the opening 7 to hold the fabric flat against the bed on all sides of the needle so that wrinkling at the sewing point is prevented even though the fabric be exceedingly thin, and positively prevents the fabric from being lifted by the needle on the up stroke, thereby insuring tight stitches. The yielding engagement with the faband which may be molded with an inwardly ric also enables the presser foot to accommodate fabric work pieces of different thic, or consisting of different numbers of layers of fabric or work pieces of varying thickness and the upwardly curved edge allows the fabric to pass freely in any direction beneath the foot.

The spring pressure on the presser bar is normally adjusted for ordinary sewing operations to apply the desired pressure to the fabric so that the feed device of the machine will advance the fabric at each stroke, but when the feed device is adjusted to an inoperative position the yielding presser foot of the present invention will permit the fabric to be easily moved in any direction and acts to press out the wrinkles in the fabric as the fabric approaches the sewing point. The transparent face plate, gives visibility fabric around the sewing point and to thereof so that the operator can view a" it is being formed and can see the leng stitches and the condition of the fabric which is being sewed. The visibility of a considerable portion of the fabric at and around the sewing point is particularly advantageous in daming or in applique work since it enables the operator to shift the fabric on the bed to accurately guide the same beneath the foot to produce the desired lines of stitching.

The resilient convex face plate is highly effective in sewing sheer fabrics since it is adapted to hold the fabric flat against the bed all around the needle opening while pressing lightly thereon and prevents puckering and wrinkling of the thin fabric at the sewing point.

The presser foot of the present invention will not cause injuryto the operator by shattering a needle which may be improperly positioned or so bent that its point is out of registry with the opening 7 for the reason that the celluloid face plate will be readily perforated by a needle point out of registry with the hole 7. In order to permit replacement, the celluloid plate is preferably so attached to the frame 1 that it can be readily removed and replaced by a new face plate should it be damaged, the flange 4 being so formed that it may be sprung on or off therim 2.

The presser foot is of a size such that it extends for some distance on all sides of the presser bar and needle bar and serves as a guard to prevent fabric on the'bed of the machine from becoming entangled with moving parts carried by the arm of the sewing machine.

The device of the present invention is especially useful for applying patches to the interior of tubular fabric pieces such as sleeves, pant legs or 132 stockings in which case the tubular piece may be passed over the foot piece so as to enter the foot piece, presser bar and needle bar and the portion of the arm in which they are mounted into the tubular fabric piece whereby the foot piece 35 may hold the portion of the tubular piece upon which the patch is tobe applied flat upon the surface of the bed. The transparent face plate permits the operator to watch the sewing as it progresses upon the interior of the tubular piece 1 so that she can properly manipulate the work, the portion of the garment to which the patch is being applied being pressed out flat as the work is moved about on the bed to cause the edge thereof to travel .past the sewing point.

In Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawing, there is shown a slightly modified form of the invention in which the presser foot consists of a skeleton frame 25 of oval form having a rim 26 to which is secured a convex, flexible, transparent disc 27 156 which has a marginal flange 28 overhanging the margin of the rim 26. The disc 27 has a needle hole 29 approximately at the center thereof and may be provided with an additional opening 30 for braid or the like, which permits the braid or other strips to pass down through the face plate and forwardly to the sewing point, the frame 25 has integral webs 32 and 33 which extend inwardly from the rim 26 and join near the center of the frame. The frame may be in the form of a one-piece sheet metal stamping having a main window 34 which extends from the rear of the needle hole 29 to the forward portion of the rim 26 and side windows 35 on opposite sides of the rearwardly extending webs 33. The frame 25 may have an integral attaching bracket 36 in the form of a tongue stuck up from the body of the sheet metal of which the frame has been formed between the webs 33 and bent to provide a rearwardly extending flange 3'7 offset from the body of the frame.

The flange 37 is provided with an elongated slot 38 which receives the clamping screw at the lower end of a presser bar.

In Figs. 7 and 8 of the drawing there is shown a presser foot similar to that shown in Figs. 1 to 4 except that a different means is provided for accommodating the foot to sewing machines of different models. This presser foot consists of a skeleton frame 40 of circular form and a transparent disc 41. The disc 41 has a centrally located opening. 42 which is of elongated form and the disc 41 may be turned on the frame 40 to dispose the elongated opening 42 at different angles so that after the presser foot has been attached to the presser bar the disc 41 may be turned until a portion of the elongated opening registers with the needle. The disc 41 preferably has frictional engagement with the rim of the frame 41 so that it will be held in any position to which it may be turned. In order to obtain an effective frictional holding action the rim of the frame 41 may have an upwardly bent edge 43 which bears against the peripheral portion of the disc 41 and which is gripped between the body of the disc and an inturned flange 44 at the margin of the disc 41. The marginalflange 44 of the flexible disc may be sprung over the upturned margin 43 of the circular frame 40 to secure the disc on the frame and after the disc is mounted on the frame it may be turned by hand to adjust the elongated hole 42 as may be necessary to register the opening with the needle.

It will be apparent that the present invention provides a presser foot which is not only useful for ordinary sewing operations but also facilitates numerous special sewing operations which have heretofore been exceedingly difllcult to perform with domestic sewing machines and that a single attachment is provided which serves for a number of operations for which special presser foot at tachments have heretofore been considered necessary.

Furthermore, it is to be understood that the particular form of apparatus shown and described, and the particular procedure set forth, are presented for purposes of explanation and illustration and that various modifications of said apparatus and procedure can be made without departing from my invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A presser foot comprising a skeleton frame having means for attachment to the presser bar of a sewing machine, said frame having a substantially flat circumferential rim and strengthening webs extending inwardly from said rim, and a face plate comprising a disc of thin flexible transparent material having its margin secured to said rim and being provided in the central portion thereof with a needle opening.

2. A presser foot comprising a metal frame having a substantially, fiat annular rim portion and inwardly extending reinforcingwebs, said frame having an attaching portion rigidly connected to said webs, a convex face plate composed of resilient and transparent material and having a marginal inwardly bent flange overhanging said rim portion to hold the plate in place on the frame, said transparent plate having a needle opening in the central portion thereof.

3. A presser foot comprising a frame having a flat continuous annular rimportion and bracing webs extending inwardly fromsaid rim portion and adjoining each other adjacent the center of the frame, said frame-having an attaching clip connected thereto and extending upwardly from the central portion thereof, and a transparent resilient face plate having a central needle receiving opening and having a marginal portion secured to said rim portion. I

4. A presser foot comprising aframe having a peripheral rim portion and an opening within the rim portion, an attaching clip projecting upwardly from the frame inwardly of the rim portion, and a face plate of flexible transparent material secured to the frame and lying beneath said opening, said face plate having a needle receiving opening in advance of the clip and under the opening in the frame.

5. A presser foot for sewing machines comprising a substantially rigid frame having a continuous rim portion and a celluloid face plate having a continuous inwardly bent marginal flange overhanging said rim portion, said face plate having a convex fabric engaging face the center portion of which is bowed downwardly with respect to the central portion of the frame and whereby the faceplate may exert a'yielding pressure on fabric on the bed of the sewing machine.

6. A presser foot for sewing machines comprising a frame having an annular rim, rearwardly webs joining said first mentioned webs to the rear portion of the rim, an attaching clip secured to said webs. a concave celluloid disc having its margin secured to said rim and its center portion bowed downwardly, said disc having a substantially central needle receiving opening.

'l. A presser foot comprising a frame having a circular rim, an attaching bracket rigidly connected to said frame, and a fabric engaging disc secured upon said rim and covering the under side of the frame, said disc having a radially elongated needle receiving opening adjacent the center thereof and being mounted for turning movement on said rim whereby the angular position of the needle receiving opening may be adjusted.

SARAH B. BARKER. 

